Los Angeles is placing a new focus on technology and entrepreneurship, according to Investor’s Business Daily.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa last week “announced a new business council with 25 local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business leaders,” notes the article. “His Council on Innovation and Industry aims to attract investors and spur the tech scene in the City of Angels.”
“The announcement comes four days after the local beach towns of Venice and Santa Monica hosted Silicon Beach Fest, a tech celebration featuring local start-ups, panels, workshops and mixers, with about 2,000 in attendance over two days,” reports IBD.
“Relative to Northern California we are undercapitalized,” says Zack Zalon, managing partner at business incubator Elevator Labs. “L.A. is an incredibly rich market of opportunity. It has a boundless creativity that exceeds anything I’ve seen in Silicon Valley, New York or Seattle.”
Creativity — especially in regards to online digital media content — has been largely fueled by the major entertainment studios, but until now the area has been hampered by a shortage of VC funding and a supporting community.
L.A. is experiencing a surge in support for start-ups from business incubators (or accelerators), the availability of facilities that start-ups can use to invent and work, and new programs at the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles that “help students and graduates with business ideas and research,” says the article.
Investors are beginning to take note of the changes and VC funding is on the rise. ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld also notes that L.A. has a reinvigorated networking, crowd education, and social scene.
Los Angeles is placing a new focus on technology and entrepreneurship, according to Investor’s Business Daily.
No Comments Yet
You can be the first to comment!
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.